India to airlift medical supplies to Palestine
Palestine-India, Politics, 11/30/2000

India has decided to airlift medical supplies to Palestine in the wake of recent incidents of violence in the Middle-East, India's Junior Minister for External Affairs Ajit Kumar Panja said Wednesday.

Expressing "deep concern and consternation" over the violence in Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza strip and other areas, Panja said, "to provide urgently required relief, Indian government has decided to airlift medical supplies to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society."

He was addressing a meeting organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People.

Without directly criticizing Israel, Panja said, "there have been deliberate acts of provocation, excessive use of force and violation of basic human rights, including the right to life."

In his message, read out by K V Rajan, Secretary (East) in the federal External Affairs Ministry, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said the imperative need is for restraint, for avoidance of provocation and for return to the peace process. "India is convinced that dialogue is the only viable option in the search for a just, durable and comprehensive peace settlement in West Asia...Diplomacy and statesmanship have to prevail over hatred and violence. There is no other road to lasting peace," Vajpayee said.

He reaffirmed India's support to the Palestinian people in their legitimate aspirations for peace and justice and their inalienable right to a homeland.

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